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THE STUDY 



OF 



King Henry Fourth 

PARTS I-II 



Studies of the Historical Plays of Shakespeare, No. 3 



BY 



H. A. DAVIDSON, M. A. 



MADISON, WISCONSIN 
JULY, 1908 



TXl 






LiBf^A.RYofCGf«GKESs| 
Two GooIbs Seceivfid 

NOV 19 i90i3 ^ 

CUSS qJ AXc, No. I 



l^'^^^^^j-ti 



Copyright 1908 

By H. A. Davidson 

Author and editor of the Study-tiuide Series, author of 

"Literary Study for Busy People," "The 

Gift of Genius," etc. 



CONTENTS 



PAGE 

The Study of the Historical Plays of Shakespeare 5 

The Study of the Drama 11 

Note-Book Work 15 

The Purpose of the General Topics 18 

References for the Study of the Historical Plays of 
Shakespeare: 

Required Books 19 

English History 20 

Life and Times of Shakespeare 21 

The Dramatic Art of Shakespeare 22 

Theory of Dramatic Art 23 

Reference Books 23 

Supplementary Reading 23 

The Reading of Criticism 24 

The Study of King Henry Fourth 25 

Topics for Study: 

Section I. Preliminary 31 

Section II. Act 1. The Difficulties of a King by Act 

of Parliament 33 

Section III. Act 2. "A Truant to Chivalry". 37 

Section IV. Act 3. The King's Broken Reed 40 

Section V. Act 4. The Eve of Battle 43 

Section VI. Act 5. The King's Son to the Rescue 44 

Section VII. General Topics 45 



The Study of King Henry Fourth Part II 47 

Topics for Study: 

Section I. Preliminary 47 

Section II. The Broken Compact. 49 

Section III. The Death of Henry IV 52 

Section IV. Prince Hal becomes King Henry V 54 

Section V. The Plot of Henry IV Part II 5B 

Section VI. General Topics 59 



The Study of the Historical Plays of 
Shakespeare 

H. A. DAVIDSON 

This guide for the study of Shakespeare's historical plays 
is arranged for practical ends. No attempt has been made to 
specialize the study in any one direction. The aim is rather 
to secure intelligent reading and thorough familiarity with the 
text of the plays and at the same time to aid effectively in the 
study of the drama as a form of literary art. 

The objects which have determined the selection and ar- 
rangement of topics for study may be summarized as follows: 

It is intended to aid students, first, in reading with close 
attention, and in retaining, from scene to scene, the dramatic 
significance of all that has preceded, that, as the plot develops 
it may carry the imagination steadily forward to those com- 
plex crises of dramatic action in which many conflicting mo- 
tives mingle. 

Secondly, to aid in understanding the dramatic relation and 
significance of plot and counter-plot, of mingling tendencies 
and forces. 

Thirdly, to aid readers in catching, in each scene and act 
the true significance of the characters that carry the action. 
In the dramas of Shakespeare interest always centers in the 



6 



action. {Scenes are not arranged for the purpose of presenting 
characters, but characters are never mere lay figures brought 
together for the purpose of acting. Words and acts spring 
profoundly and intimately from what the persons are; acta 
seem to reveal depths and complexities of human nature such 
that the qualities of men and women predetermine events. 

Fourthly, the topics for study are arranged for the purpose 
of leading students indirectly, but effectively, to an under- 
standing of the principles of dramatic art as manifest in the 
writing and arrangement of plays. 

Fifthly, little emphasis has been placed, in topics for study, 
upon reference work. A few books of reference have been sug- 
gested in the bibliography; these should be used constantly 
as aids, whenever the reader's familiarity with the vocabulary, 
syntax, or widely varied illustrative material in use in Shakes- 
peare's day is insuflacient for clear and full apprehension of 
the dramatist's meaning. A limited vocabulary, or unfamiliar- 
Ity with the literary conceits and phrases of the Elizabethan 
period might easily deprive the reader of a just understanding 
of the text and, certainly, of appreciation of the rich play 
of fancy, the ready wit, and the glancing intelligence of the 
master mind of the period. The study of the language and 
the literary qualities of Shakespeare's text as an end, should 
be reserved for the class-room, or the seminar, in connection 
with an adequate library and under competent guidance. 

Sixthly, no adequate study of the sources of Shakespeare's 
plays is possible apart from the resources of libraries. Such 
references to sour'ces as are found in this Study-Guide are lim- 
ited in scope and intended only for the illustration of the 



dramatist's skill and method in adapting old material so that, 
in the result, the borrowed parts assume new and more sig- 
nificant meanings and contribute to a whole of high dramatic 
value. This topic, when pursued as an end by students of 
competent training and scholarship, is rich in the reward it 
offers. 

The Arden edition of the text suggested for use, contains 
the material for an elementary study of Shakespeare's rythm 
and lines. Further study of this topic is left to the initiative 
of individual students, or the guidance of instructors. Many 
subjects of special study, not touched upon in this guide, will 
suggest themselves to Shakespearean scholars, but they do not 
fall within the scope and purpose of this little book. For the 
most part, also, such subjects are profitable only for advanced 
students who need no other guide than the purpose in hand, 
and who are abundantly able to avail themselves of the ripe 
scholarship of those who have given years to the special topic 
that claims their interest. 

It remains to say a word of apology for the mingling of the 
study of English history with the study of Shakespeare's plays. 
In a narrow sense, the student of the historical plays of Shakes- 
peare has no concern with the period of English history in 
which the events of the play belong. He asks from what source 
Shakespeare drew his material and, when he has found the 
chronicle, or the earlier play, used by the dramatist, he directs 
his attention to the discovery of the selection and adaptation 
by which the new play was arranged. The Shakespearean 
scholar is, theoretically, impregnable in his position that we 
should inquire only for the contemporary historical source of 



8 



the characters and events used by the dramatist as the basis 
of the scenes and acts he imagined. In practice, this is usu- 
ally interpreted narrowly and, as a result, attention is cen- 
tered upon the Chronicle or 'Lives,' or earlier play, from 
which the dramatist borrowed. This examination fails to re- 
veal a most important element in Shakespeare's work, one, in 
truth, of greater significance than any single source of con- 
versations, or scenes, or stage arrangement. Into his adapta- 
tions of old chronicle-plays or histories, Shakespeare infused 
something derived from no one of them, — a new relation of 
parts, a deeper understanding of political events, an interpre- 
tation of history as he knew it, that seems almost prophetic. 
To the question of how he came upon this wide comprehension 
of the meaning and trend of events extending over several 
generations, it is an easy answer to suggest the genius of the 
greatest dramatist the world has known, but a closer analysis 
shows that Shakespeare's special gifts lay, first, in his exceed- 
ing readiness and versatility in absorbing phases of the life, 
belief, and knowledge of his own generation; secondly, in his 
power of intellectual detachment from his own experiences so 
that he both shared the emotions and experiences of his fellow 
men, and also compared, related, and judged; and thirdly, in 
such gifts of mind or temperament that he unconsciously 
grasped the fundamental and permanent principles of drama- 
tic art. The first of these qualities made him the great ex- 
ponent of the minds and passions of all men in all ages; the 
second made him a practical student of political and historical 
events, and enabled him to interpret their meaning; the third, 
his supreme gift as a dramatist, enabled him to present the 



rich fruitage of his mental activity in an art-form of perma- 
nent and living vitality. The result is that in his interpreta- 
tion of history, in his understanding of men, or of times, 
Shakespeare often outruns his own historical knowledge. In 
King Richard Second, for instance, he seizes upon the great 
transitions taking place in that age and by a stroke of genius 
he relates them, both to the theories and practices of royal pre- 
rogative in the reigns of the Plantaganet kings of England, 
and to the rise of those forces that, long after, in the reigns of 
Henry VIII. and of Elizabeth, brought forth the new England 
of modern times. 

Of all this, the student of Holinshed's Chronicle or of The 
Troublesome Raigne, or of Marlowe's Edward Second, learns 
little; but if, presently, he turn to modern histories and, by 
means of the best, inquires what the underground forces were 
that shaped the destinies of the English people between the 
time of King John and that of Richard Second, he will find 
later, on comparison, that Shakespeare has included in his 
play almost every one. The demands of the laborers, the far 
reaching results of the Black Death, the changes in industry, 
the rise of a commercial class, the passing of the power of the 
armed knight and the decay of the walled town, the new 
demands of the Commons, the attitude of the church, are all 
touched upon. To the careful student of history, the play 
seems to embody the complex elements of unrest that marked 
the age, while Richard and Hereford respectively stand for 
the earlier and the later conceptions of kingship in England. 
The critic and the historian seem to be writing from essen- 
tially similar points of view when Professor Hereford speaks 



10 



of "the political problem of the history, — that struggle be- 
tween legitimacy and aptitude which the nation so rapidly 
settled in favor of the latter," as the key note of the situation 
in the play, and the historian, Bishop Stubbs, in his discussion 
of the causes of Richard's downfall, uses these words, 
**Henry IV. coming to the throne as he did, made the validity 
of a parliamentary title indispensable to royalty; and Richard 
II., in vacating the throne, withdrew the theory, on which 
he had tried to act and by which he had been wrecked, of the 
supremacy of prerogative."! 

Shakespeare was familiar with the administration of af- 
fairs and the relation of classes in the age of Elizabeth and 
drew, at any moment, unconsciously, upon a fund of knowledge 
which could be paralleled in our time only by most thorough 
and painstaking study of the history, ideas, and political 
events of the age in which he lived. In a day when scenic 
presentation was a chief means of communicating ideas and 
information passed from group to group by word of mouth, it 
seems probable that the public may have been more familiar 
with the important events of national history than in the 
present age of many books. This common fund of knowledge, 
familiarly held in mind, Shakespeare counted upon in his au- 
dience, and it is precisely this background for the apprecia- 
tion and enjoyment of the historical plays that the modern 
reader lacks. It seems certain, then, that such a study of his- 
tory as will in a measure provide a substitute for this vital, 
sub-conscious familiarity of the men and women who first saw 
these plays with the present and the traditional past of their 



^ Sec. 269, chap, xvi., v. 2, Stubbs*, Constitutional History of Eng- 
land. 



11 



own age, must contribute much to a better understanding of 
the dramas. 

It is also frankly admitted that this guide is intended to 
serve a double purpose. Shakespeare's profound insight and 
his gift of interpretation suggest the wisdom of combining the 
study of his dramas with study of the history and times of 
which he wrote. For readers who seek culture and a better 
understanding of history and of literature, rather than special 
scholarship, the study, pari-pdssu, of literature and of the 
ages of which it is the most intimate, often the most reliable 
expression, is an incomparable means of attainment. 

THE STUDY OF THE DRAMA 

Aristotle defines tragedy as "an imitation of an action that 
is serious, complete, and of a certain magnitude." The defini- 
tion, with modifications, will serve for other plays than trage- 
dies. A drama must present an imitation of an action which 
is complete, well arranged, and of purport calculated to im- 
press or interest. Aristotle's definitions are, historically, the 
sources from which our theories of dramatic art have been 
derived, and there is still no better beginning of study of the 
form and structure of the drama than parts of the Poetics, 
The following definitions, briefiy quoted from Butcher's trans- 
lation, are fundamental in an understanding of the principles 
of dramatic sequence and unity of action: 

"A beginning is that which does not itself follow any thing 
by causal necessity, but after which something is or naturally 
comes to be. An end, on the contrary, is that which itself 
naturally follows some other thing, either by necessity or in 



12 



the regular course of events, but has nothing following it. 
A middle is that which follows something as some other thing 
follows it. A well constructed plot, therefore, must neither 
begin nor end at haphazard, but conform to the type here 
described." * * * 

* * * ''The plot being an imitation of an action, must 
imitate one action and that a whole, the structural union of 
the parts being such that, if any one of them is displaced or 
removed, the whole will be disjointed and disturbed. For that 
which may be present or absent without being perceived, is 
not an organic part of the whole." 

The following suggestions are designed for the women of 
study clubs, readers, and isolated students who seek aid in 
critical study. Students working in classes with an instruc- 
tor and having access to discussions of dramatic art should 
follow other methods, or use these suggestions as an adjunct 
to broader and more analytic work. 

After the preliminary study indicated for each play: 

I. For each act, fix firmly in mind the leading characters 
and note for each, — 

a. Name and relationship. 

b. Leading facts in the life of the person, if historical. 

antecedent to the beginning of the play. 

c. Character and role among comrades, antecedent to the 

beginning of the play. 

Note. — The reader should become so familiar with these before enter 
ing on the studiy of the act that, in answer to the calling of names, 
she can make ready response with brief descriptions and characte 
sketches. 

II. At the beginning of each act, fix firmly in the mind 



13 



time and place, and for every act after the first, notice the 
time intei^al between the close of the previous act and the 
beginning of the next; ask (a) What is supposed to have oc- 
curred in this interval? (b) How is this interval managed 
or accounted for, in the setting, or acting of the play? 

III. At the -conclusion of the reading or study of each act 
make a plot outline which will show, — 

a. By scenes, the purpose of each. 

b. The main purpose or subject of the act, as a division 

of the play. 

c. The beginning of the plot, if the act is the first; in 

later acts, the situation which serves as beginning 
of the act. 

d. The relation of each scene, in order, to the main pur- 

pose, or plot of the act; that is, the part, or step in 
the plot of the act fulfilled by the scene. 

e. In each act, the most significant moment, correspond- 

ing in a general way to climax in the play. 

f. The conclusion of the act. 

g. The threads of interest, or unfinished sequelae^ at the 

conclusion of the act; these will be clues to follow, 
and a main source of interest in succeeding acts. 
The development of the unfinished sequelae will 
also be a test of the unity of the play and reveal the 
skill of the dramatist. 
Note. — The "Topics for Study" for each act will guide to the selec- 
tion of the true plot sequence, and the "General Topics" are arranged 
to give a similar summary and critical estimate for the play as a 
whole. 

The following brief statement of the theoretical organiza- 
tion of tragic drama is not intended to take the place of books 



14 



on this subject, or as a guide for special students. For readers 
who have no books on the theory of dramatic art, it will be 
an aid. Historical plays are not necessarily organized in the 
form of the tragic drama, but this type has so manifestly in- 
fluenced the form and arrangement of all plays that the un- 
derstanding of it is essential for study of dramatic structure 
in any of its varied forms. 
In the theoretical drama it is supposed: 

I. That in act 1 we should find an introduction to the main 
group of the dramatis personae, including the central figure 
or hero; a clear indication of essential facts such as time, 
place, and antecedent events necessary for understanding pres- 
ent action; the beginning of the plot, or dramatic action, and 
an indication of the problem, including some hint of every 
element working in this main plot toward an end. 

II. That in act 2 the counter-plot should develop; that is 
complications, difficulties, and dangers impending to thwart 
the action initiated in act 1 should be fully indicated, together 
^th the dramatis personae among whom they originate. 

III. That in act 3 we should have the bringing together 

of these two groups of persons, of these opposing plots, and a 

struggle of forces, not apparently decisive, but indicating with 

certainty to all except the participants the final result. 

Note. — In a five-act tragedy, the climax is usually in the third act 
It is not difficult to give a theoretical definition of the climax but the 
determination of the climax, or moment of finality, in a given action 
Is often puzzling. Climax may be tested by the question whether 
every element of determining force in the result has yet come into 
full play ; for, if new elements are still to enter, then the Issue is 
not yet fully joined, — a moment still more doubtful may arrive, oi 
reversal may take place; but if determining elements have not yei 
become effective, then the issue still hanlgs in the balance, and the 






15 



action has not yet come to a true climax. The term climax is 
often used for the dramatic scene in which the final issue is joined, 
for the moments of intense suspense preceding the arbitration of fate, 
but the true climax lies in the brief space of time that marks the 
final turning ; before that breathless instant, diminishing effort still 
rests upon some unexhausted source of hope ; after it, though bat- 
tle rages and counter-plots arise, the end is sure, and when it comes, 
one looking back sees in what moment it was written down in 
the book of fate and realizes that since that time action has been 
no more than the subsidence of expended forces, the after results 
flowing from decisive acts or incident:^ 

IV. In act 4 the dramatis personae, often unaware, them- 
selves, that the decision of fate has been reached, take heart 
of courage to renew the struggle. The on-looker, although he 
has understood the trend of events more clearly than those 
who take part in them, must still be almost persuaded when 
he sees the reviving courage and strength of the protagonists 
that they have yet a fighting chance. Upon this act depends, 
in great part, the high charadter of the tragedy in the end. 
The braver the effort, the more unsubdued the spirit, the bet- 
ter the muster against fate, the more pitiful the downfall 
which reveals the overwhelming odds, the predetermined 
event, the irremediable ruin. 

V. The final act of the tragic drama returns, from its first 
moment, to the expectation of catastrophe with which the 
third act closed and is, in reality, the bringing to view of the 
ruin then wrought, in all its results. 

NOTE-BOOK WORK 

In the study of the drama the note book is for the purpose 
of preserving for constant use outlines, tables, and references. 
Information found in books should be cross-referenced in the 
text of the plays, but collections of facts gathered from many 



16 



sources are more accessible and useful when organized in the 
form of brief outlines in note-books. The editor of the Arden 
edition of King John has included a most useful leaf from 
his own note-book, p. 143. — Chronicle of the Reign of King 
John. 

To be useful, the note-book must be paged, and cross refer- 
en'ces to it placed in the text. Note-book work of a more ex- 
tended kind should be required of students working in 
classes with the aid of special libraries and instruction. 

A. PRELIMINARY TOPICS 

I. A list of the Norman and Plantagenet Kings of England, 
with dates of reigns. 

II. Geneological tables arranged as in Green's Shorter 
History of Elngland. 

a. Showing the descent of the Kings of England, from 

William I., to Henry IV. 

b. Of the family of Henry II., showing children, mar- 

riages, and descendants, as far as necessary, for 
the dramatis personae of these plays. 

c. Of the family of Edward III., in the same way. 

d. Of the family of John of Gaunt, showing the chil- 

ren of Blanche of Lancaster, and also the children 
of Katharine S^vynford; that is, the family of the 
Beauforts. 

III. Preliminary to the study of King Richard Second, 
make a chronicle of the important events of his reign simi- 
lar to the one given in the Arden edition for the reign of 
John. 



17 



IV. Biographical notes of characters: 

These are for historical characters found among the dra- 
matis personae and are a means of securing that familiar 
acquaintance with them as individuals which is essential to 
imaginative reading of the drama. 

V. In the text of King John, mark in each act all passages 
which show the indebtedness of Shakespeare to the earlier 
play, The Troublesome Raigne of King John. This will be 
preparation for the topics of Section IX, p. 43. 

B. TOPICS FOR THE STUDY OF THE PLAY 

I. Ke9p, by acts, from stage directions, notes, ^ta., a time 
analysis, and statement of place, etc., for each act of each 
play. This may be kept in the text by noting at the begin- 
ning of each act: 

a. The date of the beginning, or the interval since the 

last act closed. 

b. The time of the act, as far as given. 

c. The place where the scenes are supposed to be. For 

instance, Richard Second, act 1. Time, April l8, 
1398; place, Richard's palace, Windsor. 

II. Cross-referencing and annotating: 

Essential facts? which should be borne in mind may be added 
by note or reference, in the text; for instance, act 1, Richard 

Second, note in the margin for name of John of Gaunt 

horn in 1340; note for King Richard, aet. 31 years, etc. When- 
ever an item is found by searching, a reference to book and 
page should be added in the text, even if it be to the notes of 
the edition in use. 
2 



18 



THE PURPOSE OP THE GENERAL TOPICS. 

The general topics for the study of the historical plays 
of Shakespeare have a double object. They are intended 
as a summary and review of the detailed study just con- 
cluded, and they should serve to emphasize the relation of 
parts, and give a broad view of the dramatic significance, 
power and charm of the play. Topics for these purposes will 
be found under "A." 

Critical study must derive its value from intimate knowl- 
edge of detail and close study of parts, but unless, after a 
time, the fragmentary results of such study are used in pur- 
suit of some definite end as the basis of comparison, infer- 
ence, conclusion, the student is little advanced intellectually, 
by all his toil. The second division of general topics is 
added for the use of students and classes having access to 
special libraries and time for extended and critical study. 
These topics are suitable either for written papers or for 
brief discussions in which carefully organized material gath- 
ered from previous reading and study is used as data. 
Topics requiring special library facilities may be omitted when 
these are lacking, or when the study of King John i&' under- 
taken in clubs for purposes of general culture. 

The topics suggested for critical study do not include even 
a small part of the many interesting subjects suggested by 
each one of Shakespeare's plays. A few have been selected 
which seem especially pertinent and fruitful. Others, it is 
hoped, may appear in later editions of The Study of Shalces- 
peare's King John; such are, The stage presentation of the play 



ii* 



in Shakespeare's time, Shakespeare's usage in verse, rime, etc.. 
Study of the literary qualities of Shakespeare's plays in re- 
lation to the conceits, forms of expression, etc., of the age 
of Elizabeth. Topics for critical study of the dramatist's work 
as author, stage manager, etc., for study of the sources of his 
play, and for advanced study of the drama of Shakespeare in 
its great qualities have not been included; such study is, in 
its nature, comparative, and should be undertaken only after 
careful study of a considerable number of plays. 



REFERENCES FOR THE STUDY OF THE HISTORICAL 
PLAYS OF SHAKESPEARE* 

REQUIRED BOOKS FOR STUDY OF KING HENRY 
FOURTH, PART I AND II AND KING HENRY 

FIFTH 

Shakespeare, W. King Henry Fourth. Part I. Arden 
edition. Heath, 25c. 

The Arden edition is chosen because the notes and introduc- 
tions give especial attention to plot and dramatic arrangement. 

King Henry Fourth. Part II 

Part II has not been edited in the Arden edition. The 
Eversly edition, edited by C. H. Hereford and published by 
Macmillan, is recommended if available. The volumes of this 
edition are not sold separately. The entire set of eleven vol- 
umes is listed at ten dollars. Any good text will serve, such, 
as the Cambridge, Temple or Larger Temple. 

King Henry Fifth. Arden edition. Heath, 25c. 

King Henry V. Richard Mansfield^s Acting Ver- 
sion. McClure, 50c. 



♦Prices quoted are list prices. Libraries secure the usual dis- 
counts on these prices, and individuals can sometimes obtain reduc- 
tion. Books not available through regular dealers are marked Out of 
prvnt. These may be found in the public library, or may be picked 
up second hand. 



20 



Wendell, B. William Shakespeare. Scribner, $1.75. 
Warner, B. E. English History in Shakespeare's Plays. 

Longmans, $1.75. 
Gairdner, J. I-Iouses of Lancaster and York. (Epochs 

of History) S<;ribner, $1. 
Church, A. J. Henry Fifth. (English Men of Action) 

Macmillan, 75c. 
Kingsford, C. L. Henry V., the Typical Mediaeval Hero. 

(Heroes of the Nation) Putnam, $1.35. 

BOOKS FOR THE LIBRARY 
ENGLISH HISTORY 

Norgate, K. John Lackland. (Heroes of tne Nations) Put- 
nam, $1.50. 

Stubbs, W. The Early Plantagenets. (Epochs of History) 
Scribner, $1. 

Green, Mrs. J. R. Henry the Second. (Twelve English 
Statesmen) Macmillan, 75c. 

Maurice, C. E. Stephen Langton. (English Popula,r Leaders) 
King, 7s. 6d. (Out of print.) 

Bateson, M. Mediaeval England. (Story of the Nations) 
Putnam, $1.35. 

Gairdner, J. & Spedding, J. Studies in English History. 
Douglas, 12s. (Out of print.) 
For the chapters on the Lrollards. 

Bright, J. F. English History, v. 1. Longmans, $1.50. 

Green, Mrs. J. R. English Tov/ns in the Fifteenth Century. 
2v. Macmillan, $5. 

Trevelyan, G. M. England in the Age of Wycliffe. Long- 
mans, $4. 

Wylie, J. H. English History under Henry the Fourth. 4v. 
Longma,ns, $20. 
For the trial and deposition of Richard II. 

Pearson, C. H. History of England During the Early and 
Middle Ages. 2v. Bell, 30s. (Out of print.) 

Stubbs, W. Constitutional History of England. 3v. Long- 
mans, each $2.60. 

For Henry IV. and Henry V., v. 2. The analysis of the char- 
acter of Henry V. is the best estimate of his ahility as a ruler. 

Ramsay, J. H. The Angevin Empire. Macmillan, $3.25. 



21 



Gairdner, J. The Houses of Lancaster and York. (Epochs 
of History) Scribner, $1. 

Oman, C. W. C. Warwick, the Kingmaker. (English Men 
of Action) Macmillan, 75c. 

Stone, W. G. B. Shakespeare's Holinshed. Longmans, |5» 
(Out of print.) 

Hall, H. Court Life under the Plantagenets. Button, $2.50. 

Cutts, E. L. Scenes and Characters of the Middle Ages. 
Virtue, 15s. (Out of print.) 

Gardiner, S. R. Atlas of English History. Longmans, $1.50. 

A good wall map of England. 

W. & A. K. Johnson's is the best and may now t)e l>btained 
in this country for a moderate price. 

Traill, H. D. & Mann, J. S. ed. Social England. 6v. Put- 
nam, each $5. 

For the England of Henry IV. and V., v. 2. 

LIFE AND TIMES OF SHAKESPEARE 

Lee, S. Life of Shakespeare. Macmillan, $1.75. 

Raleigh, W. A. Shakespeare (English Men of Letters.) 
Macmillan, 75c. 

Brandes, G. William Shakespeare, a Critical Study. Mac- 
millan, $2.60. 

Wendell, B. William Shakespeare. Scribner, $1.75. 

Mabie, H. W. V/illiam Shakespeare, Poet, Dramatist and 
Man. Macmillan, $2. 

Bagehot, W. Shakespeare, the Man. McClure, 50c. 

Ward, H. S. & C. Shakespea,re's Town and Times. Lane, $3. 

Ordish, T. F. Shakespeare's London. Macmillan, $1.25. 

Stephenson, H. T. Shakespeare's London. Holt, $2. 

Winter, W. Shakepeare's England. Macmillan, 75c. 

Hales, J. W. The Age of Shakespeare. Macmillan. 

Warner, C. D. The People for Whom Shakespeare Wrote. 
Harper, $1.25. 

Creighton, M. Queen Elizabeth. (Epochs of History) 
Scribner, $1. 

Wheatley, H. B. The Story of London. (Mediaeval Towns) 
Macmillan, $1.75. 

One of the best books on London at the time of the his- 
torical events represented in these plays. 



Hall, H. Society in the Elizabethan Age. Ed. 3. Button, 

$2.50. 
Ordish, T. F. Early London Theaters. Macmillan, $2. 
Morley, H. English Writers, v. 10. Cassell, $1.50. 

V. 10 contains Shakespeare and his times. 
Lee, S. Stratford-on-Avon. New illus. ed. Lippincott, $1.50. 

THE DRAMATIC ART OF SHAKESPEARE 

Lounsbury, T. R. Shakespeare as a Dramatic Artist. Scrib- 
ner, $3. 

• Text of Shakespeare. Scribner, $2. 

Moulton, R. G. Shakespeare as a Dramatic Artist. Ed. ^. 
Clarendon Press, $1.90. 

Bradley, A. C. Shakespearean Tragedy. Macmillan, $3.25. 

Brink, B. T. Five Lectures on Shakespeare. Holt, $1.25. 

Coleridge, S. T. Lectures on Shakespeare. (Bohn's Stan- 
dard Library.) Macmillan, $1. 

Ulrici, H. A. Shakespeare's Dramatic art. 2v. Macmillan, 
each $2. 

Smith, D. N. Eighteenth Century Essayists on Shakespeare. 
Macmillan, $3. 

Contains Morgann's essay on the dramatic character oi Sir 
John Falstaff. 

Snider, D. J. Shakespeare's Histories. Sigma Pub. Co., $1.50. 

Corson, H. An Introduction to the Study of Shakespeare. 
Heath, $1. 

Hazlitt, W. Lectures on the Age of Elizabeth and Charac- 
ters of Shakespeare's Plays. (Bohn's Standard Li- 
brary) Macmillan, $1. 

Gives most unfavorable view of Henry V. 

Hudson, H. N. Shakespeare, his Life, Art, and Characters. 
2v. Ginn, $4. 

Baker, G. P. The Development of Shakespeare as a Drama- 
tist. Macmillan, $1.75. 

Warner, B. E. Famous Introductions to Shakespeare's Plays. 
Dodd, $2.50. 



23 



THEORY OF DRAMATIC ART 

Schelling, F. The English Chronicle Play. Macmillan, $2. 
Freytag, G. The Technique of the Drama. Scott, $1.50. 
Price, W. T. The Technique of the Drama. Brentano, $1.50. 
Hennequin, A. The Art of Play Writing. Houghton, $1.25. 
Butcher, S. H. Aristotle's Theory of Poetry and Fine Art 

with a Critical Text and Translation of the Poetics. 

Ed. 3. Macmillan, $4. 
For advanced students. 



REFERENCE BOOKS 

Clarke. M. C. & C. C. The Shakespeare Key. Scribner, $7.50. 

Bartlett, J. Concordance to Shakespeare. Macmillan, $1.50. 

Abbott, E. A. Shakespearean Grammar. New ed. Mac- 
millan, $1.50. 

Schmidt, A. Shakespeare Lexicon. 2v. Lemcke, $8. 

Dowden, E. Introduction to Shakespeare. Scribner, 75c. 

Fleming, W. H. How to Study Shakespeare. 4v. Double- 
day, each $1. 

Corson, H. Introduction to the Study of Shakespeare. 
Heath, $1. 

Dyer, T. F. T. Folk-lore of Shakespeare. Harper, $2.50. 

Barnard, F. P. Companion to English History in the Middle 
Ages. Clarendon Press, $2.90. 

Oman, C. The Art of War in the Middle Ages. Putnam, $4.50. 



SUPPLEMENTARY READING 

Clarke, M. C. The Girlhood of Shakespeare's Heroines. 

Scribner, $3. 
Rolfe, W. J. Shakespeare the Boy. Harper, $1.25. 
Black, C. W. Judith Shakespeare, Harper, $1.25. 
Bennet, J. Master Skylark. Century, $1.50. 



Jameson, A. B. Characteristics of Women. Houghton, $1.25. 

Lamh, C. & M. Tales from Shakespeare. Macmillan, $1. 

Marlowe, C. Edward Second. (Temple Dramatists.) Mac- 
millan, 45c. 

Note: — This play is easily found. Its importance lies in 
the fact that Marlowe was the first to adopt the material 
found In chronicles, history-plays, etc., to the form ol- 
dramatic art. This play, probably produced in 1590, seems to 
be the model from which Shakespeare first learned his own 
greater art. 

THE READING OF CRITICISM 

Students are earnestly requested not to read discussions 
of the plot or structure of these plays or of the characters in 
them, until the conclusion of the work suggested in Topics 
for Study. After the student has become familiar with the 
text of the play and has by study and comparison defined 
her own impressions of characters or plot, the reading of 
critical essays will suggest other opinions for comparison 
with those gained at first hand from the text. The reading 
of discussions of literature of which one is ignorant makes 
little Impression on the mind, and succeeding opinions, if 
different, displace those first read, since the reader has no 
reliable means of judging between them. 



2S 



THE STUDY OF KING HENRY 
FOURTH, PARTS I-H 



The Relation of the Falstaff Scenes to the Dramatic Structure 

of the Plays 

Part I. of Henry Fourth is not arranged a^ a tragic drama. 
It is, first of all, a series of historical scenes, on a stage set 
for the advent of Shakespeare's hero-king, Henry V. In 
the difficulties on which the dramatic action turns, it repre- 
sents the transition from royal prerogative and hereditary 
right to government by the will of the Commons in Parlia- 
ment. The Percys, with their great holdings and special 
privileges in the north, represent the old feudal nobility; 
while the Earl of Derby, himself the head of a noble house, 
became Henry IV. on the condition of his recognition of the 
right of the Commons to give and to take away the English 
crown, and his heir, the young prince, mingled informally 
with the common folk of London. Between two extremes so 
far removed, there could be no marriage; the rebellion of the 
Percys was inevitable. This furnishes the situation with 
which the play opens, but, mingled with the historical scenes 
of the play, are others in which Falstaff leads the revels, and 
these form so slight a part of the more serious main action 



26 



that they have called forth much discussion in regard to the 
purpose they fulfill, and opinions differ. 

One authority suggests that Fal staff and his crew travesty 
the dying feudalism of the time in the spirit of Don Quixote; 
another sees in the knight "the most humorous figure in 
literature", and in the scenes of which he was a part, a 
picture of life in town, in Shakespeare's own time; to an- 
other, he suggests a satire on Puritanism. It may well be 
that the character was mingled of many elements and grew 
with the handling. The popularity, on the stage, of the scenes 
in which Falstaff appears must have been due entirely to the 
character of the knight, and the enjoyable, spontaneous humor 
of the incidents; nevertheless, in the serious, historical part 
of the play the slight dramatic structure rests upon this back- 
ground of life in the underworld of London. The dramatic 
plot turns upon the difficulties besetting the newly crowned 
Henry IV. Among these, chief and most fatal in the king's 
own estimation, was the reputed character of his eldest 
son, the Prince of Wales. In Richard Second, act 5, the 
dramatist touches upon this "unthrifty son", for whom his 
father bids seek among loose companions in the taverns, nam- 
ing him "young", "wanton", "effeminate." In the beginning 
of Henry Fourth, act 1, the king confesses that he sins in envy 
of Northumberland, "father to so blest a son." This ill-repute 
of the Prince, blown about by the Presenter, Rumor, arose 
from the company he kept and the escapades of his com- 
panions, a full share in which was commonly attributed to 
him. The difficulties manacing the stability of Henry IV. on 
the throne approach a tragic climax in the third act, in the 



27 



agreement of the chief conspirators and the conjunction of 
their forces. Had their plan succeeded, this culmination of 
the conspiracy in aggressive rebellion would assume the im- 
portance of a true climax in the tragedy of the quandam king, 
Henry IV. and the catastrophe in the fifth act would 
appear a fulfillment determined by previous events. The 
elements of this catastrophe are emphasized by the arrange- 
ment of scenes. The first gives, on the stage, an impression 
of the strength and assurance of the conspirators, but its 
dramatic significance lies in the persons who meet for the 
partition of the spoils. Glendower of Wales, the Percys, who 
bring Scotland in their train; Mortimer, guardian of the law- 
ful heir of England. Between the famous map scene and 
the arrival of the messenger who announces to the king the 
conjunction with the rebels, of the Scots under Douglas, a 
long scene is given to the interview of the king with the 
Prince of Wales. This reveals the fatal defect in his pre- 
paredness to meet the conspirators; the dramatist has even 
painted the moral by sharp contrast with the son of Northum- 
berland, the warlike Hotspur, the main dependence of the 
rebels, in the zeal and confidence of vvrhom there is presage 
of disaster for Henry. The tragedy thus carefully prepared 
for, is reversed at the proper time, in the very moment of 
catastrophe by the repentant Prince who thus fulfills the 
vow made in the presence of the king. In the moment of 
Henry IV. 's mortal peril, the son rescues his father, and, 
in the sequel, he also turns the wavering tide of battle and 
saves the day for England. On looking back, after the event, 
it easily appears that the dramatist, with cunning skill, con- 



y 



28 



cealed the elements out of whictL change of fortune might 
grow, within the tide of events setting the other way. The 
confidence of the conspirators who over-ripened the fruit they 
would gather, and the depression of a father whose "ear of 
greatness" had been abused by "smiling pick-thanks and base 
news-mongers," become warnings prophetic of the reversal 
that occurred. 

This closes Part I. Henry Fourth, a play showing, in ana- 
lysis, a theoretic unity and sequence of structure not ap- 
parent on the stage, since the disproportionate length and the 
realism of the Falstaff scenes, together with their immediate 
and irresistible appeal to the pit, wherein all men are of kin, 
dwarfs the real center of dramatic interest, substituting for 
interest in the story the more compelling interest in life itself. 

The second part of Henry Fourth, as an acted play, has 
little consistent dramatic structure, or unity. The historical 
scenes are composed of slight materials which in nature, 
or in incidents, parallel the plots in Part I. As a part of 
Shakespeare's great series, the purpose of the play is more 
evident. It furnishes the necessary transition from the vic- 
tory of Shrewsbury, and the consequent establishment of the 
king upon the throne, to his death, which seems, in the narra- 
tion, as no more than prologue to the accession of his son. 
To the support of this scanty, ill-organized material, the 
dramatist calls Falstaff and his crew, whose rich conjjbits 
would suffice to lure an audience through many acts lesjj|full 
of meaning. Enacted on the stage, critics are agreed thatjKiere 
is little dramatic organization in these alternating scetres. 

Yet it seems a mistake to suppose that Shakespeare, master 



<' 



I 



29 



of dramatic art, most skillful in the arrangement of parts 
for unity of impression, and culmination of effect, should 
have had no plan in mind in the composition of this play. 
Some semblance of plan there must have been, and it should 
be sought for in the function of Part II. in the development 
of the historical series, which leads us to the ideal of king- 
ship presented in Henry Fifth, Richard Second shows the 
king by hereditary right giving place to the man who, in the 
name of the Commons of England, takes up the crown be- 
cause he is fit to rule. In Henry Fourth, Part I., we see this 
king surrounded by difficulties that threaten to overturn his 
dynasty in the very beginning; from these he is rescued by 
the timely appearance of his son in a role befitting the heir 
apparent of a disturbed and restless kingdom. 

Where Part 11. opens, the old difficulties reappear, but the 
parts are reversed. Y/hereas, in Part I. the chief danger of 
the king lay in plots and conspiracies which, deprived of his 
son, he was unable to meet, now, in failing health, his anxiety 
centers in the character of his heir and the welfare of his 
kingdoni. Plots and conspiracies serve only\tQ^ illustrate and 
emphasize the need of a strong hand and a steady purpose 
in the man who was to rule the turbulent baronage of England. 
In the first act, the aftermath of Shrewsbury is shown: on 
the one hand, the power and resources of the feudal nobility, 
engaged in new conspiracies; on the other, by one effective 
glimpse, is revealed the character of the company in London 
to join which the Prince of Wales is journeying, well-content, 
from his brief hour of glory. 

The second act fulfills and illustrates the return of the 



30 



prince to old comrades and old ways, while the brief and 
apparently irrelevant scene thrust into the midst of merry 
ones, serves as a reminder that plots against the king have 
not ceased because Hotspur is dead. The careless prince, 
it seems, may lose a crown while he follows his jest. Then 
comes the third act which turns upon the distemper of the 
king and the disorders of his service, both of which threaten 
a tragic conclusion to a merry play, the play of the prince 
who lost a crown in a manner truly fitted to point a puritan 
moral. Reversal takes place in the fourth act, and brings the 
plot finally, to a climax in which the prince recognizes the 
lineal descent of kingship from his father to himself, and 
his own obligation to transmit it, in turn, unimpaired. This 
he promises in words more solemn than an oath, lifting, at 
the same time, the imperial crown to his own head. From this 
moment, King Henry V. bestrides the stage in royal dignity, 
and the motley crew of which he did erewhile dream, falls 
back into obscurity. On reconsidering the play from the point 
of view of the end there appears a thread of clear dramatic 
sequence which finds its conclusion in these closing scenes. 
From the time of Shrewsbury, the prince begins to detach him- 
self from his boon companions and the dramatist so brings the 
spectator on, that, when the moment arrives in which the new 
king refuses to acknowledge his old friends, it holds a relation 
of double significance to past incidents. 

In the king, the act appears as part of a premeditated pur- 
pose; but among his old companions of the night hours, the 
discourtesy is received as the tragic end of a dream-world in 
which all had seen themselves revellers at pleasure in the 



31 



palace of a king and holding up, not stray travellers on Gads- 
hill, but the Lord Chief Keeper of the revenues of England. 
There is even deep and homely pathos in the broken trust of 
the old knight; for, spite of evidence, readers and spectators 
must believe in the genuineness of his affection for the hand- 
some lad with whom he had made sport. 

TOPICS FOR STUDY 

SECTION I. PRELIMINARY 

1. Who was heir to the throne by hereditary right after the 
death of Richard II? 

2. Where and how was this person living? Did Henry IV. 
fear this claimant? 

3. On what grounds had Henry claimed the crown from 
Parliament? 

4. Wherein v/as Henry's position weaker than that of the 
hereditary heir would have been? 

5. In what was the strength of his position? 

6. How had Henry secured the support, — 

a. Of the nobles? 

b. Of the Church? 

c. Of London, and the eonunonalty? 

7. Why did France refuse to acknowledge the title of Henry? 

8. On his* accession, Henry demanded homage from the king 

of Scotland; was this homage refused because it was not due 

England, or because Scotland did not admit Henry's title? 

Note. — In this connection, discuss the hostile feeling toward Eng- 
land prevalent in Scotland and seek its cause in the relations of 
the two countries since the times of Wallace and of Bruce. 



32 



9. Define the attitude toward the king and the understand- 
ing on which it was based, of, — 

a. The Lords. 

b. The Commons. 

c. The Church. 

10. In which of these lay the chief and most secure support 
of the king? Give reasons in full. 

11. What difficulties had Henry to face in the beginning of 
his reign? 

12. What powerful enemies, or lukewarm friends*, had he? 
Point out the men, and in each instance, give the reasons for 
disaffection. 

13. What was the effect of the peculiar position in which 
Henry found himself on his personal relations with the nobil- 
ity of his realm? 

14. Make a geneologicai table showing the descendants of 
Edward III. to Henry V., showing especially both marriages 
of John of Gaunt, and the children, and also the heirs of the 
Earl of March. See Arden edition of Henry Fifth, Green's 
Shorter History of England, etc. 

15. Make, for reference, a genealogical table of the Percy 
family showing also relatives by marriage as far as the char- 
acters appear in the play, Richard Second. 

16. Where were the estates of the Percy family? Enumer- 
ate their possessions and special privileges. 

17. What was the occasion of the battle of Homildon in 
1402? 

18. What disagreement between the Percys and the king 
arose from this battle? 



33 



SECTION II. THE DIFFICULTIES OF A KING BY ACT OF 

PARLIAMENT 

ACT 1 

Note. — If the study of H&nry Fourth does not immediately fol- 
low the study of Richard Second, in this series, section III. of that 
study, "The England of Richard Second," should precede the topics 
on Part I., act 1. 

19. When and where does this play open? 

20. What men in Parliament or in the royal household, had 

been among the king's officers in the previous reign? 

Note. — The royaS! household at this time, included all the great 
administrative officers of the government, since grants for public 
service were made to the kinig personally, who apportioned and dis- 
tributed the funds according to his own judgment or pleasure. 
The abuses to which this system gave rise were discovered in the 
historical study of the sources and the administration of the king's 
revenues, preliminary to the study of Richard Second. 

21. Of the dramatis personae, give briefly for each one: 

a. Kis kinship. 

b. His part in the action of the former play. 

c. His character as presented In the former play. 

Note. — Information for this topic is to be found in the Arden 
editions of Richard Second, and of Henry Fourth. There is, how- 
ever an omission. Ralph, Earl of Westmoreland, belonged to the 
great house of Neville, more powerful than even the Percys of North- 
umberland. More than seventy manors, lying in six or seven dif- 
ferent counties, owned the overlordship of his family, and the head 
of the family was able; to muster for war an army of his own fol- 
lowers, men-at-arms, archers, and knights. After his coup ^ etat, 
in 1397, Richard II raised Ralph, head of the family, to be Earl of 
Westmoreland. Ralph Neville, however, was bound to the house of 
Lancaster by marriage and joined Boilngbroke when he landed at 
Ravenspur. Henry presently, made him Earl Marshall of England 
in place of the exiled Duke of Norfolk, and Ralph Neville, throughout 
life, remained a faithful adherent to the house of Lancaster. A 
daughter of this Ralph married the Duke of York, and his descend- 
ants played leading parts in the Wars of the Roses, and a grand- 
son was Warwick, the king-maker. For a full account of this 
family, see Oman's Warwick, the Kingmaker. 



34 



22. What indications of plot, or of theme, do you find in the 
opening scenes of Part I? 



The Kings Conscience: 

23. What changes in the character of Henry as king appear 
in the opening scenes of Part I? 

Note. — The character study of Bolingbroke made for Richard Sec- 
ondf should be the basis of this comparison 

In Stubbs's Constitutional History of England, v. 2, chap. 18, sec- 
tion 301, is a comparison of Henry of Derby with Henry, tHe king. 

24. In Shakespeare's play, what motives moved Henry to 

desire to go on a crusade? 

Note. — The dramatist attributes Henry's desire to lead a crusade 
to the Holy Land to remorse for the part he had taken in the de- 
position and death of Richard Second. In this, he followed history 
as set down in the chronicles. This form of expiation, however, 
seems to have been suggested by a visit in the first year of Henry's 
reign from the Emperor of the Greeks, who came to England in quest 
of aid against the Mohammedans. Henry entertaned him royally, 
and assumed the cross of a crusader, but, obviously, found it im- 
possible to leave his realm at that time. 

25. Cite from act 2, Richard Second, all passages which 
point to a sequel, and explain their significance. 

26. Who had been chief actors in the dethronement scene? 



The King's Relations with His Subjects: 

An editor of this play has' said that the defeat of Douglas 
at Homildon Hill and the preceding defeat in Wales of Morti- 
mer of Glendower form the real starting point of the play. 
Each was a distinct episode arising from antecedent events 
and conditions; give an account of the historical scenes and 
point out the significance of each of these fights. 



* SpeF.ed also Holmedon, and Humbleton (in Northumberland 
County, England). 



35 



27. Show the relation of these disturbances in the North and 
in Wales to the disturbances' and plots that followed the acces- 
sion of Henry II. 

28. From historical sources, make an outline showing the 
main perplexities and difficulties, of Henry's position at this 
time. 

29. Which of these difficulties did Shakespeare select as the 
dramatic basis of his* play? Of these, which is most empha- 
sized in the first act? 

30. Why was the disposal of the prisoners taken at Holme- 
don an important matter? 

31. Did the ransom and disposal of prisoners belong, of 
right, in the Percy family, or was it a royal prerogative?. 

Note. — The discussion of this question should be based upon pre- 
vious customs and the special privileges of the Percys as feudal 
lords. 

The King's Son: 

32. a. What was the character of Prince Hal, as represented 

by his father in scene 1? 

b. What was the character of the Prince, as represented 

by Shakespeare in scene 2? 

c. WTiat is the dramatic reason for the soliloquy with 

which scene 2 closes? 

33. What part had each of the characters in scene 3 borne in 
the play, Ri6Tiard Second? 

34. To what lines' in act 5, Richard Second, do Worcester's 
words refer? What is the purpose of the reference here? 

35. What real reasons had the Percys for quarrelling with 
Henry IV? 



36 



Tlie Conspiracy : 

36. a. What persons were engaged in it? 

b. For each one of these, show (1) the motives that in- 

fluenced him to take part in a conspiracy against 
the king; (2) the risk he ran, — that is, what Jie 
must lose in case of failure. 

c. V/hat was the plot? — (1) what elements of success 

in it; (2) in v/hat was it weak; (3) in what did 
Shakespeare depart from historical facts in the 
combination planned; (4) what elements of per- 
sonal riralry, jealousy, etc., form a part of the plot; 
(5) what bound thes'e men together? (6) what pos- 
sibilities of discord among themselves do you note? 

General Topics: 

37. a. How many characters are introduced in act 1? 

b. Characterize each distinctly. 

c. Which are essential to the plot? 

d. In which did the author find most delight? How do 

you judge? 

e. What is the subject or theme of the play, Henry 

Fourth, Part I, as set forth in act 1? 

f. What is the purpose of the first act of Henry Fourth, 

Part I, as part of the plot of the drama? 

g. What is* the purpose of scene 1 in the plan of act 
I I? Of scene 2? Of scene 3? 

'^l h. Wbat unfinished sequelae do you find at the close of 
act I— that is, what is the dramatic "situation?'^ 
1. ^Mierein lies the conclusion of act 1? Why? 



37 



SECTION III. *<A TRUANT TO CHIVALRY.'' 

ACT 2 

In act 1, the dramatist has brought into view the uneasy con- 
science of the king, and the crop of plots and treasons for 
which his usurpation of the crown prepared, with a hint of his 
apprehension of disaster in the succession of his son. Act 2, 
which, dramatically, should assemble the forces that will cul- 
minate in the critical scenes of the third act, is given to 
Henry's son, in whom the house of Lancaster must stand or 
fall. Even the brief scene between Hotspur and his lady 
illustrates* the king's envious admiration of Northumberland's 
warlike son at the expense of his own Henry. 

In the scenes of this act appear, in living pictures, the revels 
rumored before. There is* method in their presentation but 
they should be read as they were written, as a commentary 
and illustration of the rumors, forming a real element in the 
plot of the historical scenes. No attempt is made to present 
analytical topics on these scenes; the few questions given be- 
low have been written with the purpose of suggesting more 
clearly the careful adaptation of all parts to the dramatic 
significance of the whole historical drama which they so richly 
adorn. Discussion of the character of Falstaff and of the liter- 
ary qualities of wit and humor exemplified in these scenes is 
deferred until the end of the study of Part II. 



BS 



The Historical Boar's Head Tavern in Eastcheap: 

38. a. Locate this* tavern on any map of Old London, with 

reference to London Bridge and the theatres. 

References. — In Visscher's View of London, 1616, the site of the 
tavern may be located by the spire of St. Michael's Church, near 
which it was. The Boar's Head, rebuilt after the great fire, stood 
until 1831 on the spot now marked by the statue of King Wil- 
liam IV. A picture of the old tavern may be seen in Callow's Old 
London Taverns, p. 94, and also in' Heath's edition of Irving's 
Sketch Book, edited by H. A. Davidson, p. 123, with description. A 
map of London in 1825, in the same book, shows the bridge, the 
site of the inn, and Bankside, p. 93, and on page 125 is a Bird's- 
Bye view of Eastcheap. See also Goldsmith's diverting history of 
the Boar's Head Tavern in Eastcheap. For tavern life in the time 
of Shakespeare, see Brandes' William Shakespeare, v. i, p. 208-211; 
books on Shakespeare's London, etc. 

b. How far from London, by the usual route, was the 

Inn in which act 13 opens? Why was Gadshill a 

famous place for highwaymen? 

Note. — An account of Gadshill and Gadshill Place by the ''very 
queer small boy" who knew all about Falstafif, and afterwards came 
to live on the spot where the fat knight's exploit took place, is in 
Forster's Life of Dickens, v. 3, chap. 8. 

39. What was the plan for the presentation of character in 
the Pal staff scenes. 

40. What was' the real attitude of Falstaff toward the prince? 

41. What was the secret of the prince's liking for the com- 
pany of these men? 

42. At the time of the scenes in act 2, what, in your opinion, 
was the attitude of the prince toward his companions? 

43. a. In what degree was he one of the tavern fellows? 
b. To an observer, would he have seemed different from 

the others? 

44. Write a defense, in the first person, of the prince's con- 
duct at this time. 

Note. — This defense should include the attitude of the prince 
toward his father and the nobles of the royal household, and also 
his opinion of court life, its standards and restraints. In seeking 



39 



for material, study each phrase of Shakespeare for clues, but in 
writing draw freefly upon imagination, personal opinion, etc. The 
more intimately the character of Prince Hal is studied from every 
point of view, the better will be the little paper, which may be 
brief, or long, at the pleasure of the writer. In form, illustration, 
reference, etc., it should be characteristic, and the mood of the 
prince toward different persons must be studied from the scenes 
in which he appears. 

45. What is the bearing of act 2 on the conspiracy which oc- 
cupies the greater part of act 1? 

46. In what, chiefly, is the interest of the leader, or the 
spectator, of these scenes? 

47. Is Falstaff, here, to be understood as an individual char- 
acter, or as typical, or as burlesque, in relation to other parts 
of the play? 

Note. — Express your own opinion after reading for pleasure acts 
1 and 2, and support it with reasons and illustrations from the text 
that seem to indicate Shakespeare's intention'. 

48. Define in cold terms Falstaff's vices and then inquire 
why we, nevertheless, like him. 

49. For what purpose is scene 3 introduced in the midst of 
the story of Falstaff and his crew? 

50. a. Was* Hotspur's refusal to confide in his wife due to 

her character, or to some trait of his own? Com- 
pare with scenes elsewhere in this play. 

b. What impression of Hotspur did the dramatist wish 

this scene to convey? 

c. Who was Hotspur's wife? To which side was she 

boomd by interest and relationship, apart from her 
marriage? 
'51. At the close of act 2, what is the ''dramatic situation" 
of the main plot? 

52. Show every means taken by the dramatist, from begin- 
ning to end of act 2, for reminding the reader of the spectator 



40 



of these merry revels that, pari-passu with this und6r world 
of Bohemia, great affairs move forward which endanger the 
kingdom of the heir apparent? 

53. What preparation for the next act do you find in this 
act? 

54. Do you believe that in the acted play these slight refer- 
ences, or hints, would empress the spectator sufficiently to 
create a definite expectancy in the mind? 

SECTION IV. THE KING'S BROKEN REED 
ACT 3 

5'5, Read act 3 and make a plot outline in detail, showing 
stibdivisions into scenes, plan of act, etc. 
56. In this act, — 

a. What is the theme, subject, or dramatic purpo&'e, of 

act 3 as a single act? 

b. What is the purpose and plan of each scene with 

reference to the plan of the act as a whole? 

c. Show, for each s'cene, on what antecedent scenes it 

depends for its significance. 

d. At the close of act 3, what is the dramatic situa- 

tion? 

Note. — Show here all elements of the dramatic action, up to this 
point, which work for the success of the conspirators ; and all ele- 
ments of the situation which point to the success of the House of 
Lancaster. If the chance is narrow, point out on what single ele- 
ments, on either side, the situation must turn. 



41 



Character Study of Hotspur: 

57. In History, — 

Present briefly, from reliable historical sources, the posi- 
tion, age, qualities, character, and affiliations of Henry Percy, 
called Hotspur. 

Note. — Shakespeare's presentation should not he judged by accu- 
racy of detail or the reverse, but by its fidelity to the character 
of the family, the period, and the essential questions at issue be- 
tween Henry and his nobility. 

58. In the Play,— 

a. The personality of Hotspur, his age, physical char- 

acteristics, habits, mannerisms, etc. 

b. His ambitions, his idea of his own position. 

c. His ability and character. 

d. Had he the qualities which fit a man for successful 

leadership? 

Note. — The first consideration here, is a clear definition of the 
characteristics which distinguish the man of action, the leader of 
men, from the man of intellectual qualities, fine sentiment, or char- 
acter. 

Practical Suggestion. — For critical study it is useful to make here 
in out'-ine, with references and quotations a character study from the 
play. Afterwards a character study of Hotspur from the critics may 
be made, beginning with Coleridge and Hazlitt, and including the 
characterizations of Sidney Lee, Brandes, and other critics of our own 
time. Many and different opinions will be found; this character has 
deeply interested students of literature. 

•59. Brandes calls Hotspur a "hero of the feudal ages." What 
qualities does this imply? If true, has the typical quality of 
Hotspur's character any bearing on his position in the play? 

60. Which is the more attractive character on the stage, 
Shakespeare's Hotspur, or his Prince Hal? Give reasons. 

61. What accusations did the king make in his conversation 
with his son? 

62. To what, in himself, did he attribute his own popularity? 

63. In what did he compare the prince with Richard II? 



42 



64. In what did he contrast him with Percy? 

65. How did the prince answer the king's reproach? 

66. "Wliat was the king's* plan for meeting the enemy? Con- 
sult the map, and show the military position of each army. 

67. Wherein lay the king's weakness in meeting this rebel- 
lion? 

/68. Explain how the soliloquy in scene 2, act 1, prepares 
(artistically for scene 2, act 3. 
^ 69. What is the most important thing in scene 2? Why? 

70. Show how the fii-st part of scene 2 serves as a back- 
ground for the entrance of the prince. 

72. In what is the play advanced in scene 3? 

72. What, besides the advancement of the play had the au- 
thor in view in this scene? 

SECTION V. THE EVE OF BATTLE 
ACT 4 

Act 4 rehearses all dramatic elements of the situation and 
at the same time contains the seeds of all that must spring 
forth in the fifth act. By many slight indications, the mind 
of reader or spectator is turned from the feelings with which 
he saw the end of the fourth act, to an expectation of the out- 
come, that ultimately befalls. The very fact that this* act 
opens in the camp of the conspirators must indicate to an 
observant critic either an unexpected strength on the king's 
side, or the revelation of weaknesses* inherent as possibilities, 
in the situation of the rebels in act 3, but not estimated at 
full value. From this beginning, the reversal of prophetic 



43 



judgment is carried on with the certainty and essential unity 
characterizing Shakespeare's scenes. 

73. Make a plot outline of act 4, and show the special pur- 
pose of each scene and its relation to the general purpose of 
the act. 

74. Scene by scene, show what in the preceding act is re- 
peated, illustrated, enlarged upon, or modified in importance; 
cross-references should be made at each point. 

The Army in the Time of Henry lY, 

76. a. Method of recruiting. 

b. Was the organization of the army feudal, or national? 

What is the difference? 
€. Were mercenary troops employed in England at this 

time? 

d. In what proportion, in army organization, were bow- 

men, men-at-arms, horsemen? 

e. What sort of armor was used, at this time, for men, 

for horses? See illustrations in Barnard's Com- 
panion to English History in the Middle Ages, and 
in other books on mediaeval warfare. 

77. On the eve of battle compare, — 

a. The strength and quality of the armies. 

b. The preparedness of either army for fighting. 

c. The leaders of the armies, their courage and mood. 

78. At this* point, on what, as it appears, must the fortunes 
of the fight turn? 

79. Trace through act 4 all indications fortokening coming 
events. 



I 



44 



80. What was the purpose of the dramatist in placing scene 
2, between scenes 1 and 3, both in the camp of Hotspur? 

81. Has scene 4 any connection in characters* or in motive 
with preceding scenes? Is there a dramatic reason for the in- 
troduction of this scene at the close of the fourth act? 

82. Had the Archbishop of York any personal grievance, not 
here recited, against Henry? 

SECTION VI. A KING'S SON TO THE RESCUE 
ACT 5 

The Historical Battle of Shrewsbury: 

83. a. On a map of England, locate Shrewsbury; show the 

extent of the territory represented by the rebels and 
the location of the armies. 

b. Give an account of the battle and of its outcome. On 

what did the result turn? 

c. What was the importance of this battle in the reign 

of Henry IV? 

84. Is* the king's offer in the play, of amnesty and friendship 
historical? 

85. Under the circumstances, was the reasoning of Worcester 
and his decision an evidence of good judgment? What would 
another course have meant for him? 

86. If a compromise had been effected, what course towards 
Worcester and Northumberland would have been most wise 
for Henry? 

NOTE. — The subsequent career of Northumberland is instructive. 

87. Which incidents in this battle are important in the plot 
of the play? 



45 



88. What was the turning point of the battle? 

89. Why did Shakespeare bring Palstaff into so many S'cenes? 

90. What was done with the prisoners in the play, and what 
was the judgment of the king? Has this judgment dramatic 
significance, here? 

91. In history, what became of Douglas, Worcester, Vernon, 
Northumberland ? 

The End of the Play: 

92. Is the climax of the play in the saving of the king's life? 
Is it in the turning of defeat in the battle into victory? 

93. With which act, the fourth, or the third, is the descrip- 
tion of the battle most intimately connected? Why? In what 
is the conclusion of this play? 

SECTION VII. GENERAL TOPICS 

Character Study of Prince Hal: 

94. In the Play,— 

a. Description of the prince's appearance, manner, etc. 

b. Opinions of the prince expressed by different per- 

sons. 

c. The friends of the prince; what classes did they 

represent? 

d. What in the prince's character or purpose led him 

among these persons? 

e. Y/hat indications of his real character and ability 

do you find in the Falstaff scenes? 

f. Was' the prince a young man easily influenced? 



46 



g. What part did he take in the life of the persons 
with whom he mingled? 

h. In what respect did Prince Hal fail of being the 
ideal young man, according to the standard of the 
Puritans at the time when this play was acted? 

i. In what did he fail of fulfilling the ideals of the 
age of chivalry? 

j. In what did he fail of fulfilling his father's ideals 
of conduct and character for the heir-apparent? 

k. WTiat was the most fundamental difference in char- 
acter between Hotspur and Prince Hal? 
9*5. Trace the subject of *'honor" through the play; is there a 
special meaning in the use of this motive? 



47 



THE STUDY OF HENRY FOURTH PART II 
TOPICS FOR STUDY 

SECTION I. PRELIMINARY 

The power of the feudal nobility was dependent upon certain 
hereditary privileges; the most important of these were: 

a. The right of the overlord to demand military service of 

those who did fealty to him. 

b. The right to hold courts for the enforcement of justice on 

their own feudal estates. 

c. The right of the overlord to maintain and lead to battle 
armed companies wearing his own cognizance. 

Questions: 

1. What measures for limiting the power of feudal nobles 
were taken by William the Conqueror in the settlement of 
England? 

2. Discuss' the power and privileges of the nobility and the 

attempts to limit their power previous to the time of the 

events of Shakespeare's plays. 

Note. — The most useful reference here is to the summary and 
historical review, in chap. 21, of Social and Political Influences at 
the Close of the Middle Ages; v. 3, Stubb's Constitutional History 
of England. Special headings are, Territorial Acquisitions of Great 
Houses, section 467 ; The Use and A'buse of Liveries, and the stat- 
utes against them, sections 470, 471 ; Fortifying Manor Houses^ sec- 
tion 472 ; Household Economy, Military Service and Retinue, sections 
473. 474. 



48 



The Estates and Honors of the Percy Family: 

3. A very brief synopsis of Wylie's statements on this topic 
is given below, since his Henry Fourth (in four volumes), is 
not always found in libraries, and the point is important. A 
full recital of the power and prerogative, almost royal, of this 
family may be found in Volume I., Chapter I., of this his- 
tory. — Possessions and Prerogatives of the Percy Family. 

a. Lands and manors in Yorkshire, originally granted by 

William I. 

b. The County of Northumberland from the Tyne to the 

Tweed. 

c. The Percys kept court and dispensed justice at Newcastle, 

Berwick, Bamborough, Warkworth (scene of Shake- 
speare's play). 

d. The head of the family was created Earl of Northumber- 

land by Edward III. 

e. Northumberland (of Shakespeare's play) was made Earl 

Marshall of England by Richard II., in 1377; he sup- 
ported the Lollards, and quarrelled with the Duke of 
Lancaster, who accused him before the king, on which 
he appeared in London with a great train of armed 
followers and was acquitted. Later, in 1391, he was 
made Grovernor of Calais and then Warden of the 
Northern Marches. In 1398, he was summoned to an- 
swer for language used by his son (the historical 
Hotspur), refused, and was banished. In 1399, the 
Percys joined Bolingbroke, in reward of which Henry 
IV. made Northumberland Lord High Constable of Eng- 
land, and granted him the Isle of Man, the lands and 



49 



domains of Roger, Earl of March; the castle of Carlisle, 
and charge of the Western March for ten years. Thus, 
at the historical time of Shakespeare's plays, the over- 
lordship of the Percys bounded the domain of the king 
on the west and on the north, including at one extrem- 
ity, the valley of the Tweed, at the other, the Western 
March along the Severn. 

4. Dramatis Personae in Henry Fourth, Part II. 

a. How many distinct characters appear in Part I? 

How many different persons appear, including at- 
tendants, etc.? 

b. In Part II., how many distinct characters; appear? 

How many persons, including attendants, mes- 
sengers, etc.? 

c. How many characters re-enter from Part I? 

d. Do any re-enter from Richard Second? 

5. For all dramatis personae, who enter as new characters 
in Part II., prepare brief historical sketches in the manner of 
those given in the Arden edition of Part I., p. 82-88. Note 
particularly relationships by marriage, and the part, if any, 
taken in the deposition of Richard II. The best summary for 
Westmoreland is* given in Oman's Warwick, the Kingmaker. 

SECTION II. THE BROKEN COMPACT 

For reading: Act 1, scenes 1 and 3. 

Act 2, scene 3. 

Act 3. 

Act 4, scenes 1 and 3. 

NoTiL— A preliminary reading of the entire play in ordfep is essen- 
tial to the study of parts suggested here. 

4 



50 



6. Where were the estates of the Percy family? Show these 
graphically on a map of England, or draw an outline map of 
the counties, and show by blue stars, or lines, the extent of the 
possessions of the family. 

7. What part had this family taken in placing Henry IV. on 
the throne? Why had the Percys joined the Lancastrian side? 

8. How had Henry acknowledged their services? 

9. In what was the beginning of their disaffection to the 
king? 

10. What had changed this disaffection into open revolt? 

11. What consideration induced the "crafty sickness'* of 
Northumberland. 

12. Was Northumberland historically responsible for the de- 
feat of Shrewsbury? Why did he hestitate in regard to the 
action he would take? 

13. After the battle of Shrewsbury, what persons were exe- 
cuted for treason? Note whether the near relatives of any 
one of these persons were powerful or in a position to seek 
reprisal. 

14. Historically, how did Henry deal with Northumberland 
after this battle? Why was he so lenient? What was the 
result of his leniency? 

15. How long after the battle of Shrewsbury, historically, 
were the incidents* which led to the broken compact? 

16. What was Shakespeare's reason for making them follow 
at once upon the battle of Shrewsbury? Is the impression in 
the play, from the arrangement, essentially false, historically? 

17. What was the connection of Lord Bardolph with the 
Percy family? Why had he taken the part of the conspirators? 



51 



18. What part had Archbishop Scrope taken in placing 
Henry IV. on the throne? 

19. What personal reasons had he for joining In a conspir- 
acy against the king? 

20. Why was Yorkshire peculiarly well situated for a rising? 

21. Where had Henry himself landed and gathered his forces 
when he came to claim his lawful title and inheritance? 

22. Shakespeare says, "The bishop turns insurrection into 
religion." — ^What arguments did he employ to urge men to 
join the conspiracy? 

23. The meeting in the palace of the archbishop was to can- 
vas the cause, the means, and the hope of his party. 

a. What was* the cause, as the bishop and Northumberland 

stated it? 

b. Why is the blood of Richard mentioned as a cause here? 

c. What resources and what means of supporting the cause 

had the conspirators? 

d. What circumstances of the time and of Henry's position 

did they depend upon as auxiliary aids? 

e. What did the conspirators believe as to the probability 

of succes-s? 

f. Were there dissenting opinions? 

g. Were there any of the conspirators who would vote to 

go on in the face of probable defeat? What reasons 
might influence men to undertake a plot which they be- 
lieved likely to fail? 

24. Was the adhesion of Northumberland necessary to the 
conspirators? Show reasons. 

2o. Historically, what motive influenced Northumberland 



52 



when he hesitated whether to take an active part in the in- 
surrection, or not? 

26. In Shakespeare's play, what influence, and what real rea- 
sons induced Northumberland to withdraw into Scotland? 

27. What arguments for consenting to a parley with Prince 
John were urged by Mowbray? By the Archbis'hop of York? 
By Hastings? How and why did these arguments differ? 

28. What grievances were presented? Were these grievances 
real causes of complaint and widely so considered among 
Henry's subjects? 

29. Was Henry IV. responsible for the existence of the con- 
ditions complained of? If so, how could they have been reme- 
died? If not, why not? 

30. In the Event,— 

a. What became of the forces in rebellion? 

b. Of the leaders? 

c. Was the ''Broken Compact" justifiable as* a war 

measure? What was the alternative? 

d. Judged by its relation to the welfare of the English 

people, what was the result of the "Broken Com- 
pact?" Can a fortunate result be considered a 
vindication of an act? 

31. In the scenes of the "Broken Compact," in what does the 
interest of reader or spectator center? 

32. In what do these scenes fail of real interest? 

SECTION III. THE DEATH OF HENRY IV 

For Reading: Act 3, scene 1. 

Act 4, scenes 4 and 5. 



53 



33. Historically, how long a time passed between the 
^'Broken Compact" and Henry's death? For what reason did 
Shakespeare omit this period? 

34. What does history say about the decline of Henry's 
health and his premature age? 

85. To what act of his did popular superstition attribute 
his aflaiction? 

36. In Henry's last years, what were the chief anxieties that 
preyed on his mind, — 

a. In regard to his own past career? 

b. In regard to the welfare of the English people? 

c. In regard to his lineal descendants? 

37. If you think that Henry IV. was animated by any sin- 
gle purpose, ambition, or wish, what was it? 

38. From the evidence in Shakespeare's plays, what was 
Henry's IV's estimate of his eldest son? 

39. How does this compare with the character of the prince 
as presented by Shakespeare up to this point? 

40. What is the reason for introducing the excuse for the 
prince urged by his brother and by Warwick? 

41. What was Shakespeare's reason for introducing so long 
a criticism of the prince at this point? 

42. What is the significance, in the play, of the taking up 
of the crown by the prince? 

Note. — See Shakespea/r-e's HoUnshed, by Stone, for the stories of 
attempts to poison the king's mind against his son, and Stubb's 
ConaUtutional History of England, chap. 18, for the rival factions 
in the official household of the king during the years of his failing 
health, and the schemes which gave rise to reports that the prince 
plotted to assume the crown before his father's death. The prince 
allied himself with the Beauforts, who represented the liberal policy 
of John of Gaunt, and the Beauforts, in turn, used the prince in 



54 



strengthening themselves against the rival party, the leader of 
which, the Earl of Arundel, was a conservative, and allied himself 
with the church. 

43. Did Shakespeare sufficiently explain the removal of the 
crown by the king's son to make it appear excusable? 

44. To what was the change in the king's feelings* toward 
the Prince of Wales really due? 

45. Trace through the previous scenes of this play and 
of Part 1, the alternating and conflicting feelings of the king 
toward his heir; if you see preparation pointing toward this 
final scene, point it out in detail. 

46. What are the particulars* of the counsel given by the 
dying king to his son? 

47. What passage of similar purport in regard to the duties 
and responsibilities of a king do you find in Richard Second, 
or elsewhere in these plays? 

48. What were the chief tasks and difficulties handed on 
by Henry IV. to his son? 

49. In what, especially, did Henry IV. fear that his son 
might fail? 

SECTION IV. PRINCE HAL BECOMES KING HENRY V 

Reading: Act 1, Scene 2. 

Act 2, Scenes 1, 2 and 4. 
Act 3, Scenes' 2 and 3. 
Act 4, Scenes 3 and 4. 
Act o, Scenes 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5. 
Henry Fifth, Act 2, Stene 3. 

50. Why did the prince dislike and avoid the court? 
•51. To what extent did Rumor misrepresent him? 



I 



55 



52. In the play, which one of Henry IV.'s sons most re- 
sembled his father? 

53. Did Shakespeare intend that readers or spectators should 
attribute the practise of drinking and other vices to Prince 
Hal? Find evidence in the plays. 

54. What was Shakespeare's theory of Prince Henry's char- 
acter? 

55. What v/as the secret of the prince's liking for Falstaff? 

56. Do you find that the relation between the prince and 
Falstaff in Part II. difters from that shown in Part I? 

•57. What part did the prince take in the scenes of tavern 
life? 

58. Do you find in the character of Prince Hal a criticism 
upon Puritan doctrines? Cite passages which seem to point 
the moral. 

59. Is the character of Falstaff different, or changed, as 
he appears in Part II. from the Falstaff of Part I? Careful 
and critical comparison of incidents, relations with other 
persons, and especiallj^ of impressions given in the scenes, 
s'hould be made. 

60. What is the purpose of the scenes in which Falstaff 
appears, in relation to the accession of King Henry V? 

61. Were any persons in the play, prepared for the change 
in the prince when he became king? Quote, or bring refer- 
ences in proof. 

62. Show what means Shakespeare employed to create in 
the reader, or spectator, an expectation which outruns that 
of many of the companions of the prince. 

63. Is the episode of the Justice historical? Where else 
has Shakespeare referred to the imprisonment of the prince? 



56 



64. What is' the dramatic importance of this incident? 

65. Does the king's treatment of Falstaff seem to the reader 
just, or was it harsh? Was it necessary? See also scene 3, 
in act 2, Henry Fifth, 

66. What indications' of the character of the future king 
appear in these scenes? 

67. What elements of strength necessary in a ruler, may 
be inferred from the character of the prince as represented m 
these plays? 

68. What weaknesses seem inherent in his character? 

69. Did the establishment of the House of Lancaster as 
rulers of England depend chiefly upon Henry IV. or upon his 
sons? Argue, with reasons, facts, and references to authori- 
ties. 

Note. — Tradition furnislies many hints of a remarkable change in 
the character of the historical prince when he became king. A study 
of this tradition and of the evidence in support of it may be intro- 
duced here, but a careful distinction should be made between the 
question of the reliability of Shakespeare's presentation and the 
dramatic use of the assumed fact, as the point of transition be- 
tween play and player. 

SECTION V. THE PLOT OF HENRY IV. PART II 

70. What in the Prologue of Part II. is intended as a clue 
in following the thread of this plot? 

71. With reference to which character in the play is this 
clue most important? 

Act 1 

72. If you must make a general title or statement of the 
purpose of act 1 in this play, what would it be? 

73. What is the purpose of scene 1 in the plan of this act? 
Of scene 3? 



57 



74. If you consider that this play is to turn upon the heir- 
apparent of the king, what is* the dramatic significance of the 
conspiracy revealed in scenes 1 and 3, act 1? 

75. What is the dramatic reason for placing scene 2, be- 
tween scenes 1 and 3? 

76. What real connection, however slight, in the plot of 
the play, or in its main purpose, do you find between scene 
2 and the other scenes of this act? 

Act 2 

In Part I., the second act is mainly given to Falstaff and 
the prince for the purpose of revealing the king's chief weak- 
ness in meeting the plots against his throne. In this play. 
Part II, the second act is also given to the prince and the com- 
pany he keeps, while a single scene reminds us of the con- 
tinuance of plots and conspiracies. This arrangement of parts 
is significant in the development of the purpose of the play. 
With this in mind, write a brief and careful statement of the 
purpose, of the second act, in the plot of Part II., and enumer- 
ate, at the close, the impressions given in these scenes* which 
are of dramatic importance. Compare act 2, in Part I., with 
act 2, Part II., in regard to the dramatic significance of this 
arrangement. 

77. Why is the scene in Yorkshire thrust into the midst 
of scenes so different? 

78. Point out the relation of each scene, in turn, to the 
general purpose of this act. 

79. What explanations of the conduct of the prince are sug- 
gested in this act? Have any of these suggestions dramatic 
significance? 



58 



Act 3 

80. What is the purpose of the third act in this play? What 
plot elements of tragic significance does it contain? 

81. Why is Rumor introduced in this act? 

82. Why does the act close with Falstaff's recruiting? 

83. In what is the recruiting in this scene different from 
the recruiting scene in Part I? 

84. Compare the significance of the recruiting scene in Part 
I. in the main dramatic action of the play, with the mean- 
ing of the plot of the recruiting scene in act 3, Part II. 

Act 4 

85. Did the victory secured by the "Broken Compact" re- 
move the dissatisfaction which caused the conspiracies? 

86. What powerful friends or relatives of the executed 
leaders remained in England? 

87. What became of NorthumbeHand and his faction? 

88. Had the king of England a right to execute an arch- 
bishop for treason? 

89. Describe the complications and difficulties that followed 
the execution of the archbishop of York? 

■90. Why do the historical scenes in Part II, fail of vital 

dramatic interest? 

Note. — The answer to this question must be sought in the char- 
acters, and especially in the relation of the parts and the incidents, 
to the main purpose of the play. Any incident, however trivial, 
must excite attention and hold interest, if the welfare of the per- 
sons carrying the main interest of the play be involved ; but events 
of the greatest moment, if unrelated in a crucial way to those for- 
tunes which have for the moment become our own through identiti- 
cation, are to us no more than a tale that is told. 

91. What is the significance of the first part of act 4, with 

reference to the second part? 



\ 



59 



92. In scenes 4 and 0, act 4, what is the moment of crucial 
dramatic Interest and importance? Show every step in the 
development of these scenes from the beginning of scene 4, 
which prepares for this moment and gives it emphasis. 

93. Show, in order, whatever in this play, from the be- 
ginning, is preparation pointing to this moment. 

94. What moment in this play most nearly corresponds? in 
dramatic importance to the true climax? 

95. What acts following hold the relation of sequel, or true 
conclusion, to this moment? 

SECTION VI. GENERAL TOPICS 

Prince Hal in History and in Tradition: 

Special References : Stubb's Constitutional History of Bngland, 
V. 3, chap. 18, sections 318-26; Henry Fifths by Church. Introduc- 
tion to Arden edition of King Henry Fourth, Part 1 ; Shakespeare's 
HoUnshedy edited by Boswell-Stone (in the notes much carefully se- 
lected information is found) ; Dictionary of National Biogra/phy under 
names Henry Fifth, etc. ; Encyclopaedia Britanica; Henry F., the 
Typical Mediwval Hero, by Kingsford. 

96. The education of the prince, — in what households? By 
what tutors? Evidence that he was at Oxford University? 

97. The age of the prince when his father returned to 
England; where had he spent the time of his father's banish- 
ment? 

98. When did he receive the title, Prince of Wales? What 
emoluments and what responsibilities went v*^ith the title? 

99. What historical evidence do you find on the following 
points, during his father's life, — 

a. His places of residence. 

b. The offices and duties entrusted to him. 



60 



c. His own acts and character as shown by facts, official 
correspondence, etc. 

d. Of the fact of a marked change in conduct, character, 
or what not, at the time of his coronation. 

The Sources of Shakespeare's Prince Hal: 

100. Give the date, general character, etc., of each of the 
following historical sources, and show the relation of each one 
to those following: 

a. The Chronicle of Edward Hall. 

b. A summary of English Chronicles, by John Stow. 

c. Holinshed's Chronicles of England, Scotland, etc. 

d. Daniel's History of the Civil Wars, book four. 

Note. — In Morley's English Writers, v. 10, p. 310-313, is a sum- 
mary of Daniel's Civil Wars; in the Arden edition, Henry Fourth, 
Part I, is a list of points in which Shakespeare's story corresponds 
with that in Daniel's history. These relate especially to Hotspur, 
Prince Henry, etc. 

e. The Famous Victories of Henry V. 

Note. — See introduction to Arden edition of Henry Fourth, Part 
I. 

101. Compare Shakespeare's play with Holinshed's Chronicle, 
and wherever the play differs from the chronicle note it, and 
seek elsewhere the source of the variation, noting such as 
are especially due to Shakespeare's own invention. In regard 
to thes'e variations, inquire the purpose of the dramatist in 
the selection of his material. The considerations that must 
influence him were: 

a. The necessities of his plot, its unity, main purpose, re- 
lation to the series' of plays, etc. 

b. The relation of the dramatis personae to the plot, which 
often grows out of the qualities and contacts of the men in 
the play. 



61 



c. The presentation of characters and incidents in accord- 
ance with traditional beliefs popular in Shakespeare's own day. 

d. The bearing of historical characters and incidents upon 

political conditions at the time of the bringing out of the 

play. 

Note. — In Henry Fourth^ historicaJl material is mingled with 
much contemporary incident, and with manners borrowed from fa- 
miliar scenes. All is used indifferently as means for a dramatic 
result, and for this reason satisfactory study of Shakespeare's se- 
lection of material is only possible for students familiar with the 
history and literature of the period ; for these, topics may 
more usefully be selected by instructors who know the resources of 
the library at hand. 

The Chronology of the Plays: 

102. Make a chronology of all important events in the reign 
of King Henry IV. 

103. In this chronology, star all events and dates used by 
Shakespeare in his play. 

104. Note all omissions' of periods of time, and for each 
inquire for what reason in the plot of the play, the time was 
shortened so as to condense or omit historical events. 
Dramatis Personae of the Plays: 

a. Compare the dramatis personae with the persons taking 
part in the historical incidents and inquire. 

b. What characters Shakespeare added to the historical 
account, and why, in each case. 

c. In what instances Shakespeare attributed characteristics 
to historical persons for special reasons. 

The Character of Falstaff: 

10*5. Written Papers to be Assigned: 

a. The Taverns* of London, especially the Boar's Head, its 
history, etc. 



62 



b. The streets of London. 

c. Tavern scenes and manners. 

d. St. Paul's as a social exchange. 

e. Shakespeare's own familiarity with the places and the 

life described in the Falstaff scenes. 

Note. — The Falstaflf scenes were undoubtedly drawn from the 
life of Shakespeare's own day. References for these topics, there- 
fore, are found in books on Shakespeare's London, Shakespeare's 
life, etc. 

For possible originals of this character : see Brandes' Life of 
Shakespeare; Sidney Lee's Life of William Shakespeare; Wendell's 
William Shakspeare, and critical introductions to editions. 

106. Oldcastle in history, — a brief outline of the historical 
person, especially of his relation to warring factions in Eng- 
land. 

107. Special reasons why Shakespeare disclaimed Oldcastle 
as the original of Falstaff. 

108. Distinguish wit and fancy, from Imagination. How 

did Coleridge distinguish Shakespeare's wit from the wit of 

more common poets? Illustrate all thes'e distinctions by 

quotations from Henry Fourth. 

References: Coleridge's Lectures on Shakespeare, Bphu^a Stand- 
ard Library edition, p. 73, 74, 220. 

Critical Appreciation of Falstaff: 

All critics agree iu eulogizing the genius of Shakespeare 
in the creation of this character, but no two explain in the 
same way the incomparable charm of Falstaff, or attribute to 
him the same motives or qualities. The phas'es given below 
represent conflicting opinions, and are given here only as a 
means of crystallizing individual opinion. 

109. Falstaff has many times been called a coward. Magann's 
famous' essay in the eighteenth century contained a defense 



63 



of Falstaff's courage. What is your opinion, gained from the 
play? Argue, with reasons and illustrations. 

110. More than one critic admits that Falstaff was "content 
to be thought a liar and a coward;" but different reasons 
are assigned. Explain from the play your own idea of why 
he lied, and feigned cowardice so grossly. Were his lies "con- 
scious and intentional," or "inadvertent untruths"? 

111. Falstaff is accused of "deliberate exaggeration of his 
own vices*;" do you admit this? Illustrate, and show the 
motive, or show reasons against this interpretation. 

112. Coleridge says that Falstaff is a man of preeminent 
abilities;" other critics speak of his intellectual superiority 
to other men, — show in what these qualities lie? 

113. What quality, strength, or weakness, do you think the 
key note of Falstaff's character? 

114. What do you think the secret of Falstaff's wit? — critics 
do not agree on this point. 

115. Which had the keener and readier wit, the prince, or 
Falstaff? Illustrate with reasons. 

116. Explain and illustrate, — "Much in the character (of 

Falstaff) to delight the groundlings more to delight 

the spectators of higher culture." 

117. What characteristic of Falstaff is especially illustrated 
in Dame Quickly's ansv/er to his question: "What is the 
gross sum that I owe thee?" 

Incomp arable Passages: 

Each critic selects in the Falstaff scenes, some passage 
that to him seems incomparable for wit, humor, contrast, etc. 
Several of these are indicated below by the phrase of the 
author, that readers may identify by its characteristic the 



64 



passage corresponding. This should lead each, in the end, to 
the selection of his own incomparable passage. 

118. "The depth and daring of Shakespearian humor is illus- 
trated by" (Pointed out also by Gk)ethe.) 

119. "Never was the Fat Knight wittier than when he an- 
swers'" 

120. "In the exquisite dialogue between and 

(we) have no parallel anywhere else." 

Note. — ^Neither one of these speakers is" Falstaff, hence it is sim- 
ply a question of selecting from the Falstaff scenes in these two 
plays the dialoigue you think "most exquisite." 

121. "A single scene where Shakespeare shows himself 
supreme" 

122. "Falstaff reaches his highest point of wit and drollery 
in" 

123. Select your own incomparable passage for wit, humor, 
etc. 

The Actor's Conception of Falstaff: 

124. An actor must develop his part in accord with some 
theory of his hero's character; he must have s'ome clue to 
apparent inconsistencies and show that he thoroughly un- 
derstands the man he personates. Write your own actor's 
conception of Falstaff, showing the theory of your interpreta- 
tion and giving directions for acting consistently with it. 
This should include the mental attitude of Falstaff toward 
the prince, etc. 

Omitted Topics: 

In any study of Shakespeare's plays, a few selected lines of 
study must he followed, and many others, as interesting and 
valuable, neglected. 



t^ 



One topic, necessarily omitted in a study of this kind, is 
so interesting and important that the attention of special 
students is called to it. The play, Henry Fourth, is especially 
rich in references to characteristic literary fashions of the 
day, and in passages that suggest, with humorous or critical 
intent, well known phases, conceits, mannerisms, etc. Ap- 
preciation of these requires intimate acquaintance with 
Elizabethan literature, and the subject is one for critics, and 
for students who have training and taste in literature, and 
the disposition for wide reading and comparative study of 
authors whose writings no longer entertain. 



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